Should I do a water change before adding prazipro?

[ILikeFish!]

One of my fish isn’t looking to good and I need to add some prazi pro quickly and I’m just curious if I have to do a water change or anything like that before adding it because I’ve never used this before and my nitrates are kind of high at somewhere between 40-80ppm

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I’m only able to do a 20% water change because that all my bucket can hold, is that okay?

Yes - that’s fine. Some people skip the water change. It’s just that the treatment adds nutrients to the water that need to be removed or dealt with at some point.

 

[ILikeFish!]

Your second dose should be the same as the first (assuming it was calculated accurately) it is done after the 25% water change. You can use the package instructions for the dose, just don't use their timing (I think they say repeat after 3 days? That's too soon).

post #4 above , this was asked:

Change water for nitrate reduction and why are you adding Prazi?
What are actual symptoms and behaviors?
Are fish breathing normal or labored?

I treated my tank with praziquantel at 85% for about 8–10 days, then followed up with another dose. Unfortunately, I had to wait around 10–13 days before I could add carbon due to being busy. The treatment definitely helped—one of my fish went from barely moving to eating a little, though it’s still a bit skittish. Most of the other fish have stopped scratching, but occasionally, they still scrape against rocks or the sand.

Did I do something wrong, or is another dose needed? Should I just let the fish recover naturally, or could the occasional scratching be normal behavior at this point?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I treated my tank with praziquantel at 85% for about 8–10 days, then followed up with another dose. Unfortunately, I had to wait around 10–13 days before I could add carbon due to being busy. The treatment definitely helped—one of my fish went from barely moving to eating a little, though it’s still a bit skittish. Most of the other fish have stopped scratching, but occasionally, they still scrape against rocks or the sand.

Did I do something wrong, or is another dose needed? Should I just let the fish recover naturally, or could the occasional scratching be normal behavior at this point?

How long has it been since the second treatment? If less than 9 days, you should dose a third dose.

 

[ILikeFish!]

How long has it been since the second treatment? If less than 9 days, you should dose a third dose.

It’s been a good amount more than 9 days

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

It’s been a good amount more than 9 days

Ah, then you’d have to retreat from day 1. That in itself is an issue; every time you dose prazi, bacteria grows that consume it. The bacteria breaks the prazi down faster with each dose. After about five doses, the bacteria eats up the prazi faster than it can work.

 

[ILikeFish!]

Ah, then you’d have to retreat from day 1. That in itself is an issue; every time you dose prazi, bacteria grows that consume it. The bacteria breaks the prazi down faster with each dose. After about five doses, the bacteria eats up the prazi faster than it can work.

So i need to do another two week dosing again? Also there is no way to get rid of the bacteria?

 

[ILikeFish!]

Ah, then you’d have to retreat from day 1. That in itself is an issue; every time you dose prazi, bacteria grows that consume it. The bacteria breaks the prazi down faster with each dose. After about five doses, the bacteria eats up the prazi faster than it can work.

After few big water changes and after I run carbon for week or 2 will the bacteria dissipate since there won’t be any more prazi for it to consume?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So i need to do another two week dosing again? Also there is no way to get rid of the bacteria?

The bacteria lives for a long time, even without prazi to feed on. You can get rid of it by sterilizing the tank, but of course that doesn’t work in most cases, but that’s what public aquariums do with their quarantine tanks.

Prazi is the only invertebrates safe treatment against flukes. Hyposalinity works better for fish only tanks (have salinity for 30 days).

 

[ILikeFish!]

The bacteria lives for a long time, even without prazi to feed on. You can get rid of it by sterilizing the tank, but of course that doesn’t work in most cases, but that’s what public aquariums do with their quarantine tanks.

Prazi is the only invertebrates safe treatment against flukes. Hyposalinity works better for fish only tanks (have salinity for 30 days).

So is my only choice to remove the fish and quarantine them? I’m scared if I remove them it might stress them out. Should I just try another 2 week dosage just to see if it might work?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So is my only choice to remove the fish and quarantine them? I’m scared if I remove them it might stress them out. Should I just try another 2 week dosage just to see if it might work?

Because we can’t “see” the bacteria, I can’t hazard a guess as to if a second course of treatment will work or not. The only downside would be the cost of it doesn’t work.

 

[ILikeFish!]

Because we can’t “see” the bacteria, I can’t hazard a guess as to if a second course of treatment will work or not. The only downside would be the cost of it doesn’t work.

Ok, thank you I’m going to try another round of treatments just to see. But if it doesn’t work would I have to add all the fish into a quarantine tank and give them as many treatments as they need? Also is the bacteria in the fish or the water column?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Ok, thank you I’m going to try another round of treatments just to see. But if it doesn’t work would I have to add all the fish into a quarantine tank and give them as many treatments as they need? Also is the bacteria in the fish or the water column?

The bacteria appears to live on surfaces of the tank. It isn’t on the fish. It is just some type of heterotrophic bacteria, nobody is sure why it grows so well when it consumes prazi. At first, I thought I was dealing with “prazi resistant flukes” (some people still think that), but it turned out just to be this bacteria eating the prazi before it could work.

In the end - I’ve been using hyposalinity when faced with prazi failure.

 

[ILikeFish!]

The bacteria appears to live on surfaces of the tank. It isn’t on the fish. It is just some type of heterotrophic bacteria, nobody is sure why it grows so well when it consumes prazi. At first, I thought I was dealing with “prazi resistant flukes” (some people still think that), but it turned out just to be this bacteria eating the prazi before it could work.

In the end - I’ve been using hyposalinity when faced with prazi failure.

I see. How does hyposalinity compare to praziquantel in terms of effectiveness against flukes and the potential stress it causes to the fish? Also, is it safe to perform hyposalinity treatment in the display tank, or is it necessary to use a quarantine tank?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I see. How does hyposalinity compare to praziquantel in terms of effectiveness against flukes and the potential stress it causes to the fish? Also, is it safe to perform hyposalinity treatment in the display tank, or is it necessary to use a quarantine tank?

Hyposalinity cannot be used in an aquarium that also houses invertebrates - it can only be used for fish. It is much more effective than prazi, but a bit more stressful to some fish.

 

[ILikeFish!]

Hyposalinity cannot be used in an aquarium that also houses invertebrates - it can only be used for fish. It is much more effective than prazi, but a bit more stressful to some fish.

I have a cleaner wrasse, fire fish, tiny blue damsel, and a royal gramma. Would they be okay in hypo? Even with the royal gramma still kind of skittish?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have a cleaner wrasse, fire fish, tiny blue damsel, and a royal gramma. Would they be okay in hypo? Even with the royal gramma still kind of skittish?

If done properly, those species are all fine in hyposalinity. The main fish to avoid using hypo on are sharks and rays.

 

[ILikeFish!]

If done properly, those species are all fine in hyposalinity. The main fish to avoid using hypo on are sharks and rays.

Thanks jay, Where can i get some directions for doing a hyposalinty properly?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks jay, Where can i get some directions for doing a hyposalinty properly?

Here you go:

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2024 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

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